Board game company Asmodee explores sale: sources

(Reuters) - Asmodee Group, the French maker of board game Catan and distributor of Pokemon cards in parts of Europe, is exploring a sale that could value it at more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion), according to people familiar with the matter.

The Guyancourt, France-based company, owned by private equity firm Eurazeo SE (EURA.PA), has hired investment bankers to run a sale process, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential.

The company generates about 100 million euros in 12-month earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, according to one of the sources.

A spokesman for Eurazeo declined to comment, while Asmodee did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Since Eurazeo took over Asmodee in 2013 in a 143 million euro deal, Asmodee has been aggressively expanding beyond Europe and into the United States.

The best-known titles the company publishes or distributes include Catan, Ticket to Ride, Splendor, and the Star Wars: X-Wing board games.

Reporting by Harry Brumpton in New York and Pamela Barbaglia in London; Additional reporting by Martinne Geller in London; Editing by Dan Grebler